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Significant funding for digitalization and platform economy research in steelmaking

Luxmet has received significant funding for digitalization and platform economy research in steelmaking as part of the AMET-project.

Metals are an essential
part of the modern society. New models and control systems are required for the
optimization of steelmaking processes as well as the improvement of their
environmental impact. However, a significant part of the expertise required for
the development of digitalization-related solutions, especially measurement
equipment and monitoring solutions, is found outside the steel producers. So far,
the connection between equipment and measurements has favored large suppliers
that can provide complete solutions, but due to their closed systems making it
more difficult for smaller companies to enter the industry. Solutions based on
the open platform economy, which are a central topic in Industry 4.0, will
provide a change to the present situation.

The basis of the
AMET-project is the open platform economy, which makes it easier for SMEs to
enter the industry, thus giving steel producers an opportunity to benefit from
the cost-efficiency and fast development pace of SMEs. The project focuses in
strengthening the metallurgical production processes and the supply chains of
metal products, which is achieved with new measurement solutions, models, the
horizontal linking of data streams, as well as a more developed analysis of
process data. The purpose of the project is to develop process monitoring
systems and expert systems for chosen processes, such as the electric arc
furnace, continuous casting and rolling, as well as the processing of steel,
including pipe manufacturers and foundries. The developed systems and technical
solutions are piloted case-by-case together with the industrial partners.

The operating model
based on the platform economy, which is further developed in the AMET-project,
will strengthen the status of fast-developing specialized SMEs in a field
traditionally dominated by large companies. The objective is to multiply the
revenue of the SMEs taking part in the project, as well as develop the
ecosystem to allow the entry of possible new actors. The aim of Luxmet is to
develop a modular electric arc furnace control model that can utilize multiple
different novel measurement systems in controlling various sub-processes of the
electric arc furnace. With the modular control model steel plants can easily
implement novel process measurements dealing with fluctuations caused by scrap.
On the other hand, developers of measurement systems gain a clear channel with
which to implement their measurement technology to industrial electric arc
furnace processes. The control model is intended to yield significant energy
savings in electric arc furnace processing.

Five SMEs, two universities, and two industrial partners are directly taking part in the AMET-project. The participating SMEs include Kaltio Technologies Oy, Luxmet Oy, Quva Oy, Sapotech Oy, and Sensmet Oy. The partaking universities are the University of Oulu and Åbo Akademi. The solutions developed in the project are piloted in the steel mills of Ovako Imatra Ab and SSAB Europe Oy, which include both iron ore- and steel scrap-based steel production methods. The total budget of the two-year project is 5.65 million euros. The project is funded by Business Finland and the partners of the consortium. The preparation of the project was coordinated by Juha Roininen from Sapotech Oy, as well as Professor Timo Fabritius and Postdoctoral Researcher Ville-Valtteri Visuri from the University of Oulu.